Melusi's Everyday Zulu

Duduza. Bopha. Imbiza. Phapha. Asixoliseni. Amapopeye . . . What is the power of a single word? Six days a week, advertising creative Melusi Tshabalala posts a Zulu word on his Everyday Zulu Facebook page and tells a story about it. His off-beat sense of humour, razor-sharp social observations and frank political commentary not only teaches his followers isiZulu but also offer insight into the world Melusi inhabits as a 21st century Zulu man. Over the past few months he has built up a big and a loyal following that include radio host Jenny Crwys-Williams and Afrikaans author Marita van der Vyfer. He pokes fun at our differences and makes us laugh at ourselves and each other. Melusi asks critical questions of everyone, from Aunty Helen, Dudu-Zille to Silili (Cyril Ramaphosa) and even Woolworths (why are their aircons always set on 'jou moer'?) His fans love him for his honesty and commitment to pointing out subtle and overt forms of prejudice and racism. Melusi's Everyday Zulu holds up a mirror that shows South African society in all its flaws and its sheer humanity. Most importantly, he shows the power of words and that there's um'zulu in all of us!

MELUSI TSHABALALA is a seasoned advertising creative with a career spanning 20 years. He is co-founder and managing partner at Studio 214, a Maboneng-based advertising and design agency. His agency's ethos is to 'create work that touches Africans, inspiring harmony, prosperity and the celebration of this electric continent, her people and their phenomenal cultures'. Melusi strives to live by this ethos in his everyday life too. His greatest joy comes from the laughter of his three wonderful children, for whom he hopes to help build a better African future.